April 18 2018, Belfast (UK) - The annual EST Board Meeting, which gathers the main researchers and managers of the PRE-EST project, has taken place today in Belfast (UK). This project aims to give the necessary steps towards the construction of the European Solar Telescope. During this meeting the board has addressed fundamental issues for the success of the project. The coordinators of the working packages designed to build this big infrastructure have reported the current status of strategical areas such as the financial schemes, the project management, or the communication and outreach actions. The EST board also discussed about the possible legal figures to manage an infrastructure the European Solar Telescope during its preparatory and construction phases.

Prior to the EST Board Meeting, the Science Advisory Group (SAG) also met in Belfast. One of the main tasks of SAG is to refine the EST concept, building on the existing EST Conceptual Design the prioritised scientific goals and technical updates. To that end, the current needs of the solar community are being assessed taking into account the technologies likely to be affordable over the next decade. This meeting involved the participation of researchers from all the institutions participating in the PRE-EST project.